The warm weather is here, and summer sports are all upon us.
We have been keeping pretty busy.
Here's a little glimpse.
This year Jessie's riding team has ballooned beyond all recognition. Where we have never had more than about 10 kids on her team (and last year, only about 6), this year there are more than 20! It makes for busy practice sessions, but our coaches (former team members) have tackled the challenge, and they run a pretty organized operation. Jessie, in her 5th year, is now one of the seasoned veterans on the team. She had one of her best shows ever to start off the season a few weekends ago, coming away with a handful of blue ribbons.
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| Sporting her new chaps. |
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| Warming up her horse |
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| With her friend and coach, Sage, before an event. |
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| Waiting for her blue ribbon in horsemanship |
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| Getting a little coaching from Dad and Grandpa between events |
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| The fan club in the stands waiting for speed events (Grandma Tiede in town from New Mexico, came over for the show). |
Mike took this awesome series during Jessie's barrels run.
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Also this spring, Sully has been playing soccer for the first time. They finished an undefeated season last weekend. He loved it. But mostly he loved running around the field making explosion sounds, stopping to play in the small dirt patch that had been worn in the grass, striking ninja poses for his friends on the team, and taunting the opposition (we had to have a little talk about that). I think he scored one goal early in the season, but mainly he was there to pull stunts for the audience, and for the post-game treats.
As we reviewed some of the high-speed photos we took during one of his games, we noticed all the other kids moving and reacting to the ball while Sully stood there like stone in a ninja pose off to the side. Like a cardboard cut out. Undisturbed as the ball rolled passed.
Like a zen master.
Check it out (I should say here that this was typical behavior during every game) :
Wow. Now THAT is concentration.
While he didn't score a lot...or even really chase the ball most of the time... after looking at this picture that our friend took after the final game, is there any question about who the real MVP of the season was? He did it all all for glory.
Rounding out our Spring/Summer sports update, Grace started tennis lessons last week. She has been after me since about Christmas, I think, to play tennis. So... Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings we hit the courts with her coach, John Lin, who, as you can see, is not much taller than Grace. He says tennis is a short person sport, so Grace should be awesome. And best of all? She gets to look cute in her tennis outfit. (Which, believe me, is no small incentive for G.)
Fun stuff.
